…in Guyana
A letter writer who, from his name, is probably an Indigenous person from Reg 9 (Allicock), wrote a letter to report on the abominable treatment meted out to over 87 students from the Region when they were brought to Georgetown to participate in the Children’s Mashramani competition. He called the treatment “second class”.
He’s being kind to the Government of the day!! Does he not realise that the whole reason for bringing the kids was to have “photo ops”, to show the world that all Guyana’s “six peoples” are involved in what they claim to be our NATIONAL festival!! The first tip-off about this tokenism was there from the very beginning, when the festival was launched in Linden in 1970.
We’ve always been told that the name “Mashramani” was from an “Amerindian” language – Arawak – and means “celebration after a hard day’s work”. And we took this for gospel. The truth is much grimier. Seems the Lindeners – whose three areas of Wismar, Christianburg and Mackenzie had just been made into a township – on Hamilton Green’s suggestion, chose “Linden” (Burnham’s first name) as the town’s name. They then decided to have a “sport” to celebrate Republic Day. Not so coincidentally, it happened to fall three days after Burnham’s birthday!!
They decided on the name “Mashraman”, it is claimed, because one Alan Fieldlow, an Amerindian, claimed his grandfather told him that “Muster Many” was actually the Arawak word Mashramani, meaning celebration after hard work!! The organisers of the Republic Day – all Georgetowners – pronounced that since no one could say that Mashramani was NOT an Amerindian word…that was good enough to dub it Amerindian!! Imagine they couldn’t even consult the Arawak chiefs!!
But even more insulting to our First Peoples, was the “celebration” was organized along the lines of the Trinidad carnival!! With absolutely NOTHING Amerindian – much less Indigenous – about it!! If there was even a shred of respect for the First Peoples, whom the PNC claimed they wanted to honour, they could’ve built the celebrations around Amerindian themes. But don’t forget that, only the year before, the PNC had violently suppressed a rebellion in the Rupununi, and had launched their pacification programme – which is going to be launched anew. Just look at all the GDF boys that’ll be stationed on our borders!!
And so it was that from that time on, we’ve all been told that wining down to (at first) calypso, and now Soca, is honouring our Amerindian heritage!!
And that’s why, apart from being treated like second class citizens in a country that Chronnix pointed out is “Capture Land”, the Reg 9 kids didn’t win a single prize!!!
Ain’t it a shame?
…Presidential legal advice?
The Government is miffed the Bar Association weighed in on the controversy the President created when he received the Opposition Leader’s rejection of his two candidates for Chancellor and Chief Justice. It’s a “controversy” – like Venezuela’s -because there’s no “issue” or “two sides” to consider. As the Bar Association pointed out, Art 127 is pellucid on this point – and the intent of the framers of the Amendment introduced in 2000 is there to prove this.
To maintain the widest legitimacy of the guardians of the Constitution, the two top judicial officials must have the agreement of the Opposition Leader. Barring that, the President can only make ACTING appointments. Yet, he says he’ll seek “legal advice”. What’s there to be advised on? It’s clear we’re back to the President’s “perception”.
Legal luminary Roscoe Pound once said a Bar Association is supposed “to promote and maintain the Practice of Law as a profession…in the spirit of a service of furthering the administration of justice through and according to law.”
The Bar Association was acting in its noblest tradition!!
…policing
This phenomenon of robbing persons who’ve made large withdrawals from commercial banks has to be rooted in insider information.
Once is “happenstance”; twice is “coincidence”; but thrice and more is “insider enemy action”!
